By Alvin Starks
In 2002, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man released starring Tobey McGuire (Spider-Man/Peter Parker), Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane Watson), James Franco (Harry Osborn), and Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin/Norman Osborn). The original Spider-Man film championed a new breed of comic book film, revolutionizing the genre. It also inspired and taught lessons, “With great power comes great responsibility (Ben Parker).” Spider-Man 2 (2004) outdid the first movie with its heroic efforts and taught audiences that, “there is a hero in all of us (May Parker).” The final movie of Raimi’s trilogy, Spider-Man 3 (2007), didn’t live up to expectations. The infamous and vastly power symbiotic, venom suit caused Peter to dance on pianos. The movie wasn’t all bad but it was the catalyst for the end of Tobey McGuire’s reign as Spider-Man. We live in a microwave society, which explains why Sony felt the need to reboot the Spider-Man franchise five years after the release of Spider-Man 3, 10 years after the original movie released. Marc Webb’s vision of one of the most iconic characters in comic book history has finally web-slinged into theaters and everyone has an opinion.
The Amazing Spider-Man does everything possible to distant itself from Raimi’s original trilogy. There is no Mary Jane, Harry Osborn, Norman Osborn, J. Jonah Jameson or Daily Bugle anywhere to be found in Webb’s retelling of the Spiderman story. Nevertheless, the stories are basically the same on the surface. An outcast high school teenager is bitten by a radioactive spider. He experiences a metamorphosis, discovers he has newfound super powers, and an unexpected tragedy strikes that compels him to fight crime in the streets of New York City in a red and blue costume. In theory, we have seen this before. TASM spends the first hour of the film treading familiar territory, the origin of Spider-Man. I felt like Web and his screenwriters (Alvin Sargent, James Vanderbilt, and Steve Kloves) had an opportunity to radically divert from a standard origin story and dive into the meat of the movie by revealing Spiderman’s origin in the opening credits. Raimi’s movies are fresh in everyone’s mind to an extent. So, usurping the hour long origin story would have been justified. However, I do understand their vision and I am not condemning their choices. The question on most Spidey fans minds is simply, “Is The Amazing Spider-man better than the original Spider-man?”
This may sound blasphemous to hardcore Spidy fanboys and fangirls across the world, but Andrew Garfunkel is phenomenal as Spider-man and he holds his own in comparison to Tobey McGuire’s portrayal of the character. The argument can be made that Garfunkel is a better Spider-man. Garfunkel’s idiosyncrasies as a 17 year teenager are more realistic than McGuire’s. The portrayal of high school in TASM actually seems a bit more authentic than in the original movie. That does not mean it is better, it’s just more realistic. In Raimi’s version, the world was vivid, colorful, comic book like. Jokes were cheesy, characters interactions were exaggerated and peculiar things happened. In Webb’s movie, character interactions are normal for the most part. The scenes aren’t as exaggerated or overly dramatic. In one scene, a hot girl approaches Peter and ask if he is available to hang out Friday night. Peter is filled with glee. Unfortunately, she wants Peter to photograph her boyfriend’s car. Peter doesn’t trip over his shoelaces, bump into a locker, or anything of that nature. He awkwardly handles the situation like a normal teenager lacking in the skill of wooing women. Webb tries to make the world seem more realistic, a la Chris Nolan with “The Dark Knight Trilogy”. While Tobey was at the helm, Peter was nerdy, insecure, scrawny and shied away from confrontation. Garfunkel plays Peter as a skateboarding, misunderstood rebel with something to prove. He is the kind of guy that would that would save a fellow student from the school bully, Flash, and take a vicious beating in the process before undergoing his transformation. His heroics catches the eye of one of his classmates, the most fashionable, definitely one of the cutest, teenage science virtuosos on the planet, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone).
Stone does a terrific job as Gwen Stacy. She was perfect for the role due to her charm and wittiness. Eventually, Peter asks her out without actually asking her out which is awkward but romantic in a way. Garfunkel and Stone have chemistry onscreen that is delightful. I actually enjoyed the development of Peter and Gwen’s relationship. However, it has to be said, there love story is not as earth shattering, gravity defying, nor as legendary as Peter and Mary Jane’s epic tale of love in the original Spider-man.
Moreover, I won’t rehash the details of Peter’s transformation into Spider-man. There are subtle differences in the origin story and I will not spoil them. Moreover, the Spidey suit looks fantastic, its chic, futuristic. It actually looks better than the suit in the original. This comes as no surprise. It is a little farfetched that Peter could design a suit so extraordinary in his first attempt as if he was Valentino. I thought it was really cool and interesting that Peter actually behaves a like a spider at times which is comedic. In the original Spiderman movie, the web emerges from Spidey’s wrist. In TASM, just like in the animated series, Peter manufactures his spider web through a complex scientific formula. It’s really cool to watch the gadget in action. Garfunkel is actually funnier than Tobey McGuire in the role of Spider-man. At times, in the original Spiderman movies, Tobey’s jokes were a bit cheesy. I do not believe it was Tobey’s fault, it was just how the was written which catered to the comics.
Moreover, the villain of the film, Dr. Connors/The Lizard, played by Rhys Ifans doesn’t quite live up to William Dafoe’s Green Goblin in the original. Curt Connors, who is missing his right arm, worked with Peter’s father years ago. Dr. Connors works at Oscorp, which is owned by Norman Osborn. Osborn does not make an appearance but Dr. Connors is tasked with saving Osborn from an illness. Due to dire circumstances, Dr. Connors tests a formula on himself and becomes The Lizard. The Lizard as a character is very underwhelming. Yes he is very powerful and intelligent but his dramatic range is reduced to a raging beast, a beast who has compulsive urge sit atop the food chain and create a new species. His madness gets exponentially worse as the movie progresses. He begins speaking to himself in a maniacal way which is reminiscent of Dafoe’s Green Goblin.
The supporting cast of the film has limited screen time but they all take advantage of their opportunities. Martin Sheen does a fantastic job in his portrayal of Ben Parker. The lessons he teaches Peter helps propel Peter into becoming Spider-man. If you have the ability to help people, you have a moral obligation to do so. This is the code Peter’s dad lived by, and the lesson Uncle Ben teaches him. The retelling of the Uncle Ben murder, I will not go into specifics but the scenario is not as dramatic or emotionally impactive as the scene in the original. I felt it was a bit rushed. Sally Field does a solid job as Aunt May but isn’t in the same stratosphere as Rosemary Harris’ performance as May Parker. Furthermore, Denis Leary is excellent as police captain Stacy, Gwen’s father. The cops blame a trail of destruction in the city on Spider-man, who they raise to vigilante status. Captain Stacy devotes a ton of man power to hunt Spider-man down. His interactions with Peter are heated to say the least.
Computer generated imagery (CGI) technology is far superior today in comparison to CGI in 2002. So, aesthetically The Amazing Spiderman is more visually striking than the original movie. The special effects are top notch. Webb’s action sequences lacks the imagination in comparison to Raimi’s classic, comic book inspired take on the web- slinger’s battle sequences. Raimi had a keen understanding of how to film action sequences, while involving his characters. I have faith that Webb will improve in the sequel.
The argument will be by some that The Amazing Spiderman is better than the original. The movie is hilarious at times but still maintains a level of urgency in terms of Spider-man having to save the day. Andrew Garfunkel actually is amazing as Peter Parker and Spider-man. Emma Stone is great Gwen Stacy, and the rest of the cast all do a stellar job. However, the movie doesn’t quite capture the magic as the original. Spider-Man (2002) revolutionized our expectations of what comic book movies could be. Not just an onslaught of action sequences but a movie that could inspire children, women and men to be better, to do what is noble in the face of evil, and even when there is a modicum hope, never give up. There is a hero in all of us. Ben Parker, in the original film said it best, “With great power comes great responsibility. “
4 out of 5 stars
, Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane Watson), James Franco (Harry Osborn), and Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin/Norman Osborn).){kind=link}